Hey Monday makes a mess at McAllen Incubator

There’s nothing more appealing than making a mess when you’re young, but I’m older than 20 and those days are long gone. The 400-plus high school kids packed into the Creative Incubator Wednesday evening, however, loved the Lets Make a Mess Show, which featured Hey Monday as a headliner.  ,

The concert, which hosted five pop indie bands, was held in a courtyard across from the room where the Incubator usually hosts its shows. Not wanting to encroach on anyone’s bed time, the first band Stereo Skyline hit the stage at 6 p.m. and headliners Hey Monday ended its set at 9 p.m. In between were The Bigger Lights, The Friday Night Boys and This Providence.

The first three bands were forgettable, playing the same pop rock sound. They have miles to go before graduating to something unique. However, This Providence stood out with its hard rock and emo sounds. The guy’s whirlwind performance of “A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing” set the tone for their fun and well-played set.

Hey Monday hails from West Palm Beach,. Front woman Cassidee Pope didn’t bother with banter, and her mighty vocals more than made up for it. Her milky and amplified voice melded nicely with the surging alternative rock guitars. Hey Monday was definitely the favorite of the night, the groups songs were already well known by the audience and an electrifying performance of stand out track “Homecoming” encouraged a sing along.

Pope was able to show off her singing chops in an acoustic solo to the cloyingly sentimental “Candles.” Though beautifully sung, “Candles” is overly simplistic in its acoustic version and contained vapid lyrics you would find in a note passed around class. When the band accompanies “Candles,” however, it has all the workings of a Disney pop hit.

But the philosophy for the Lets Make a Mess tour was about having a carefree time within the confines of the concert. To stress that point, Pope stopped in the middle of her performance of “Arizona” and handed out red plastic cups, encouraging the audience to make a mess and asking them to throw them anywhere at her command, which of course meant throw them at her. The mess was indeed all the concert lived up to be, orderly yet playful.